Embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems, apparatuses and methods for conducting payment transactions, and more specifically, to an internal interface for chip cards and other payment devices, such as mobile phones, that may include a payment application to enable communication and data transfer between the payment application and other applications installed on the card or device. Embodiments of the invention permit loyalty, transit, and other value-add applications installed on a payment card or payment device to exchange data with the payment application directly, instead of relying upon remote back-end data processing support.
Consumer payment devices such credit cards, debit cards, or contactless chips embedded in other devices are used by millions of people worldwide to facilitate various types of commercial transactions. In a typical transaction involving the purchase of a product or service at a merchant location, the payment device is presented at a point of sale terminal (“POS terminal”) located at a merchant's place of business. A consumer may also initiate a payment transaction by providing payment data from a remote location to a merchant over a network such as the Internet. Transactions of this type are typically initiated using a computing device such as a personal computer or laptop computer. Transactions may also be initiated by using a mobile device such as a cell phone or personal data assistant (PDA) that communicates with a merchant or service provider directly or indirectly over a wireless network. Transactions in which the consumer is not in the same physical location as a merchant, and hence where a payment device is not physically presented to the merchant, are termed “card not present” transactions.
A consumer payment device such as a smart card, contactless chip embedded in another device, or mobile phone typically utilizes a payment application to enable a consumer to conduct payment transactions. In addition to the payment application, the payment device may also include one or more other applications, such as loyalty program applications, transit applications, etc. These applications may provide a consumer with other desired functionality, such as the ability to utilize a transit system or manage their loyalty account with a hotel, car rental agency, etc. In some situations, interaction or data exchange between the payment application and one of the other applications may be needed to update a counter, process a purchase or exchange of loyalty points as part of a transaction, provide payment for use of a transit system, etc. In current payment devices, the resident applications are independent and such interactions or data exchanges typically require remote processing by a back-end server operated by an appropriate entity (such as the operator of the transit system or manager of a loyalty program). This is inefficient and can cause delays in the processing of transactions if multiple remote data processing operations are required to complete a transaction.
What is desired are a system, apparatus and method for enabling communication and data transfer between the applications installed in a payment device, specifically between a payment application and another installed application or functional element. Embodiments of the invention address these problems and other problems individually and collectively.